English - Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production

10 YEARSPROMOTINGPOLLUTIONPREVENTIONCleaner Production and EcoefficiencyMechanisms for promoting the sustainable developmentof the economic and industrial sector in the MediterraneanTraditionally, companies have mainly resorted to end-of-pipe treatments as a measure for reducing the environmentalimpact generated by their activity.However, these solutions are insufficient and require investment with no other benefit than simply fulfilmentof environmental regulations.To compete in an international market with increasingly more demanding environmental and qualityrequirements, the Mediterranean economic sector must integrate criteria of ecoefficiency into its decision-makingprocesses that affect the production process as well as its products and services.Adopting alternatives for pollution prevention that create business efficiency opportunities with regard tothe use of resources and maintaining control over the environmental impact of the product, from its design untilthe end of its useful life, will contribute to the success of this effort, improving not only the efficiency but alsothe image of the enterprise against that of its competitors and among the consumers themselves.The existence of a body that promotes dissemination and exchange, both of knowledge as well as of theinitiatives carried out in the various economic sectors of the Mediterranean countries is key for promoting theadaptation to the new requirements of competitiveness which include criteria of ecoefficiency in enterprisesof the region.The Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (RAC/CP) with its headquarters in Barcelona acts, withinthe Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), as an operative unit to promote pollution prevention:- disseminating ecoefficient options and techniques- offering technical support and assessment to regional states and institutions- based on cleaner production as one of the basic tools